Amtrak also runs cabbages on the Boston-Portland (ME) Downeaster, the Portland (OR)- Vancouver Cascades, and many of the various Chicago-based city-to-city runs. They're really quite useful, and Amtrak got them with only minimal expense.

Timothy

1. Yes. Newer cars(1960's on) were built with Roller-Bearing, older ones with Bettendorf, and really old ones(pre-1930's) with Arch-Bar.
2. It depends on the particular model you are using it for. I might go with medium extension, just to be safe.
3. Micro-Trains recommends body-mounting a #1025 coupler.
4. Not really. Just make sure to check Micro-Trains conversion suggestions on their website (http://www.micro-trains.com/conversions_n.php)

Timothy

Bachmann's F9 was designed before the advent of DCC, and so does not include space in the frame for a decoder. You might need to mill some of the frame to get it to fit. As for running a DCC locomotive with a DC controller, it depends on the decoder. Most decoders sold now allow that, but some older decoders do not.

One thing to remember: DCC is only useful if intend to run more than one train at one on the same trackage. If you don't need to do that, DCC is no better than DC.

Timothy

Theoretically, yes. In reality, some locomotives(like the Atlas Shay or the Bachmann 4-4-0) are nearly impossible to convert without excellent skills in soldering and modifying the locomotive shell.

Timothy

Sheldon:

Federal debt in 1968: $365.8 billion 
Federal debt in 2008: $10.664 trillion
Increase: About 29%

Your tax numbers actually seem slightly low, then (your taxes only increased by 20%). Or we could try to pile on debt perpetually...

Timothy

Nor are plastic ties, magnetic couplers, and nickel-silver rails but we use them anyway.

Timothy

What kind of hose? Fire hose? Garden hose? We must know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Timothy

Yes, there is. I know Kato makes one in N, I have no idea about other scales. They're pretty uncommon on real railroads because they're very maintenance-intensive (much more then two single crossovers after another), so are usually used only where there isn't room for two separate crossovers. However, this space-saving attribute makes them great for layout use if you aren't too much of a rivet-counter.

Timothy

In drivers-ed, they told us the rule was 3-5 seconds behind they vehicle you are following, more if driving conditions are not optimal (dark, raining, etc).

Timothy

If it's a Bachmann train set, it's probably worth very little, maybe around $40. Bachmann is not Lionel; it is not sought-after by collectors. That said, there are a few sets that do sell for a lot more. The best reference is seeing what that set has been selling for on ebay recently.

Timothy

We had a few flurries here in Virginia today. Maybe it's a sign we'll get more snow than the pathetic "snowfall" we had last year. Or maybe even another storm like the 2003 President's Day storm that got school canceled for an entire week...

Timothy

Try looking at Northwest Shortline's site to see if they have something that will fit.
www.nwsl.com

Timothy

Quote from: Santa Fe buff on November 17, 2008, 10:54:39 PM
The freighters wait while Amtrak roll by.

That's not prototypical, unfortunately. It's always the opposite in real life.

Timothy

What you posted was an Amfleet car, built by Budd in the mid-70's for Amtrak. These are conventional coaches that are Amtrak's everyday equipment on the east coast, where tunnels in Baltimore and New York prevent Amtrak's double-decker Superliners from being used. In the late '90's, Amtrak management decided that to promote Amtrak's new Acela service, it would paint its Amfleets in a scheme similar to the Acela.

What Ernie is talking about are these:

the coaches built by Bombardier in the late '90's for Amtrak's high-speed Acela. They are semi-permanently coupled to each other and the power cars, hence why Bachmann did not equip the models with standard knuckle couplers; the prototype doesn't have them.

Timothy

Yes, they will work, but you might want to consider the Kadee #18 coupler. They will cost you more than the EZ-mates, but they are sturdier and more reliable.

The Acela cars are oddballs in the Bachmann North American line in that they are equipped with European NEM couplers, not EZ-mates.

Timothy